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# Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:06:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:06:29.000Z
- Description: Drug trafficking was 45% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 1,895 people were sentenced for it, and 1,869 (99%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 120 months (10 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) › Drug Trafficking: Southern District of Iowa

**In brief:** Drug trafficking was 45% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 1,895 people were sentenced for it, and 1,869 (99%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 120 months (10 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,895 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## The Largest Offense Type in the District

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Drug Trafficking" category accounted for 1,895 of the 4,208 people sentenced in this district. In all 94 districts together, 185,188 people were sentenced under this offense type.

Nearly all of the 1,895 cases used one primary guideline: §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)), with 1,892 people. §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals) applied to 2 people, and §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment) to 1.

## Prison Terms and Their Length

24 people (1%) received probation only. The remaining 1,869 (99%) were sent to prison. 2 received a life sentence. In all 94 districts, 96% were sent to prison.

Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 180 months or more, and a quarter received 68 months or less. The median of 120 months is higher than the median of 80 months for all offenses in this district. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 139              | 78 months     | 96%            |
| 2017        | 154              | 90 months     | 96%            |
| 2018        | 231              | 114 months    | 98%            |
| 2019        | 248              | 120 months    | 98%            |
| 2020        | 197              | 120 months    | 96%            |
| 2021        | 238              | 131 months    | 96%            |
| 2022        | 192              | 140 months    | 94%            |
| 2023        | 208              | 144 months    | 97%            |
| 2024        | 157              | 132 months    | 94%            |
| 2025        | 131              | 150 months    | 95%            |

## Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,457 of the 1,895 people (77%). A mandatory minimum sets a lowest prison term that a court must impose unless a legal exception applies. The records here do not show which exception, if any, applied to a given person.

Sentences below the guideline range were common. 715 people (38%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 729 (38%) were below it without a request. 425 (22%) were within the range, and 26 (1%) were above it. Across all 94 districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

1,821 of the 1,895 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 74 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 120 months. After a trial, it was 240 months.

These groups are not matched. People whose cases went to trial may differ from those who pleaded guilty in ways the records do not show, so the comparison does not show the effect of going to trial. Among the guilty pleas, 85% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release and Other Orders

1,868 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. 1 person received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 28 people (1%), and restitution for 39 (2%).

On criminal history, 26% were in the lowest category, and 28% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Changes From Year to Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 772 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 1,123 people. The yearly median prison term in the table is 78 months in fiscal year 2016 and 150 months in fiscal year 2025\. Yearly counts range from 131 to 248 people.

The table shows the medians rising over most of the period. The records cannot show why the figures changed, and the table does not separate the effects of different drugs, quantities, or prior records.

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not identify the drug, the quantity, or each person's role in the offense.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,895). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

**Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

**Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-iowa/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.